Augustus Taiwo "Tai" Solarin (20 August 1922 – 27 July 1994) was a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

educator and author. He established the famous

Mayflower School Mayflower School was founded on 27 January 1956 by Tai Solarin, a Nigerian educator, humanist and civil rights pioneer, who was married to Sheila Mary Tuer, an English woman; they had two children Corin and Tunde Solarin. The school is located on ...

, Ikenne,

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to the ...

in 1956. In 1952, Solarin became the principal of Molusi College,

Ijebu Igbo Ijebu Igbo (Yoruba: Ìjẹ̀bú-Igbó) is a town in Ogun State, Nigeria. It is approximately a 15-minute drive north of Ijebu Ode. Ijebu Igbo, also written as Ijebu-Igbo, is the headquarters of Ijebu North Local Government Authority of Ogun State ...

, a post he held till 1956 when he became the proprietor and principal of

Early life

Solarin was born in Ikenne,

, in Western Nigeria on 20 August 1922, the first child in a set of twins. His twin sister, Kehinde Solarin died in 1991 at about 69 years. He attended Wesley College Ibadan. Solarin was inspired by the writings of

Nnamdi Azikiwe Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, (16 November 1904 – 11 May 1996), usually referred to as "Zik", was a Nigerian statesman and political leader who served as the first President of Nigeria from 1963 to 1966. Considered a driving force behind the n ...

who encouraged young people to travel abroad for study. His initial attempt to gain a passport fell through but he later enlisted in the British Air Force and served with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

as a navigator in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He remained in Britain, studying at

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

, and then at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. Tai Solarin married English-born Sheila Mary Tuer in 1951. Solarin returned to Nigeria and became a tutor at Molusi College, which was supported by the community and Christians in Ijebu-Igbo. In 1952, he was appointed the school's principal succeeding Stephen Awokoya who had just been appointed the regional Minister for Education. Solarin, an humanist had a mission to 're-educate' the community and decided to make some changes. He removed morning prayers and religious studies as a subject in the school. However, some of the changes found opposition within the local community where his brother was a reverend. He decided to quit and found his own school with the approval of Awokoya the former Principal. He established Mayflower school on 27 January 1956.

Mayflower

The Mayflower campus, which he established, is made up of hundreds of hectares of land, based in Tai Solarin's birth Place, Ikenne,

. Approximately 15,000 students are in attendance . The campus includes classrooms, administration buildings, small houses for many of the teachers, dormitory accommodations for about 5,000 boarders, and a farm. The school is noted for very high academic achievement.

Post independence critics

Tai Solarin is one of the post-Independence

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

critics and activists in his native Nigeria; some others were

Fela Anikulapo-Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the pio ...

(musician)

Beko Ransome-Kuti Dr. Bekolari Ransome-Kuti (2 August 1940 – 10 February 2006) was a Nigerian physician known for his work as a human rights activist. Early life Ransome-Kuti was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria. His mother Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti opposed indiscrimin ...

Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...

( Nobel Laureate),

Ayodele Awojobi Ayodele Oluwatumininu Awojobi (12 March 1937 – 23 September 1984), also known by the nicknames "Dead Easy", "The Akoka Giant", and "Macbeth", was a Nigerian academic, author, inventor, social crusader and activist. He was considered a scholar ...

Dele Giwa Dele Giwa (16 March 1947 – 19 October 1986) was a Nigerian journalist, editor and founder of '' Newswatch'' magazine. Early life and career Sumonu Oladele "Baines" Giwa was born on March 16, 1947 to a family working in the palace of Oba Ades ...

Gani Fawehinmi Chief Abdul-Ganiyu "Gani" Oyesola Fawehinmi, , (22 April 1938 – 5 September 2009) was a Nigerian author, publisher, philanthropist, social critic, human and civil rights lawyer, and politician. He held the chieftaincy title of the Lamofi ...

(lawyer), and

Ken Saro-Wiwa Kenule Beeson "Ken" Saro-Wiwa (10 October 1941 – 10 November 1995) was a Nigerian writer, television producer, and environmental activist. Ken Saro-Wiwa was a member of the Ogoni people, an ethnic minority in Nigeria whose homeland, Ogonilan ...

. For the majority of the first forty years after independence, Nigeria had no effective opposition to the mostly military government of the day. These activists acted as an effective opposition to the ruling government. In 1975, when the General Gowon Regime delayed returning power to a civilian regime, Tai published his "The Beginning of the End" statement, which he then physically distributed on the roadside. He was subsequently imprisoned for this act. Throughout his lifetime Tai fought running battles with various governments in a bid to improve the lot of Nigerians.

Mr. Solarin was an intellectual guru for Nigeria's disenchanted and disfranchised for four decades. His writings in magazines and newspapers, highlighting what he called the hypocrisy and vulgarity of the Nigeria of his day, frequently angered people in power. He was a vehement critic of military rule in
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, Africa's most populous nation, and an ombudsman in three states in 1976 and 1977

As a columnist, Tai was a relentless critic of Nigerian military rule, as well as of corruption in the government and the church. He was often jailed for his public remarks.

Modesty

In a country and an age where dignitaries wore flowing '' Agbada'' to show their wealth and position, Tai was known to always wear simple khaki shorts and shirt.

Quotes

'I fight with an indomitable spirit, my back to the wall, defeat is for those who accept it' 'The greatest strands of affection are woven in adversity. Leadership means suffering. The Leader, who has no marks, indelible marks to show either on his physical body or in his mind have never led'. 'How many

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

did Greece breed? How many

Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

's did India breed? They have one each but they all had one thing in common, sense of mission. An unquenchable thirst to get things done. We need as in this instance only one courageous Nigerian to take a stand. But no Nigerian wants to offer his head to break a coconut'.

Prophet of self-reliance

One of Tai Solarin's basic principles was self-reliance, a part of the curriculum at Mayflower.

The Peoples Bank

In 1989, The Peoples Bank was founded by the government, and Tai Solarin became the first chairman. The bank was created to disburse soft loans and other forms of credit to the very poor to start their own businesses.

Humanist

Tai Solarin was also a well known

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

and

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

who opposed the ownership of the schools by churches. Tai Solarin once said that "black(people) hold onto their God just as the drunken man holds on to the street lamp post—for physical support only." In 2004, the Mayflower School played host to an International Humanist Conference, commemorating the life and work of Tai Solarin. It was attended by guests from the United States, Africa and Europe. Tai Solarin wrote regularly for the '' Daily Times'', the ''

Nigerian Tribune The ''Nigerian Tribune'' is an English-language newspaper published in Ibadan, Nigeria. It was established in 1949 by Obafemi Awolowo and is the oldest running private Nigerian newspaper. In the colonial era, the newspaper served as the mouthpie ...

'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''.

Tai Solarin University of education

In November 2005, the Nigerian

National Universities Commission The National Universities Commission (NUC) is a government commission for promoting quality higher education in Nigeria. Situated in Abuja, it was established in 1962 as an advisory agency in the cabinet office. In 1974, it became a statutory b ...

(NUC) formally recognised the "

Tai Solarin University of Education The Tai Solarin University of Education is a state university of education in Nigeria. It was established in 2005. It is located in Ijagun, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State. History The university was named after the Nigerian educational administrator and ...

" (TASUED) Ogun State, as the first specialised university of education, the 27th state university and the 76th university in Nigeria.

Works

*''Towards Nigeria's Moral Self-Government'', *''Thinking with You''. *''A Message for Young Nigerians''. *''To Mother With Love''. *''Mayflower; the story of a school''. *''Timeless Tai''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solarin, Tai 1922 births 1994 deaths Yoruba educators Yoruba activists People from Ogun State Nigerian atheists Nigerian activists Nigerian writers Alumni of the University of London Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester 20th-century Nigerian writers Yoruba writers English-language writers from Nigeria Nigerian humanists Nigerian people of World War II 20th-century Nigerian educators Prisoners and detainees of Nigeria Founders of Nigerian schools and colleges Navigators Nigerian twins Fraternal twins Heads of schools in Nigeria